And then an open field they crossed; The marks were still the same; They tracked them on, nor ever lost; 15 And to the bridge they came.
They follow from the snowy bank Those footmarks, one by one, Into the middle of the plank; And further there were none! 20 --Yet some maintain that to this day She is a living child; That you may see sweet Lucy Gray Upon the lonesome wild.
O"er rough and smooth she trips along. 5 And never looks behind; And sings a solitary song That whistles in the wind.
WILLIAM BRIGHTLY RANDS
ENGLAND, 1823-1880
The Wonderful World
Great, wide, wonderful, beautiful world, With the beautiful water about you curled, 10 And the wonderful gra.s.s upon your breast-- World, you are beautifully dressed!
The wonderful air is over me, And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree; It walks on the water and whirls the mills, 15 And talks to itself on the tops of the hills.
You friendly earth, how far do you go, With wheat fields that nod, and rivers that flow, And cities and gardens, and oceans and isles, And people upon you for thousands of miles?
Ah, you are so great and I am so small, 5 I hardly can think of you, world, at all; And yet, when I said my prayers to-day, A whisper within me seemed to say: "You are more than the earth, though you"re such a dot; You can love and think, and the world cannot." 10
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
ENGLAND, 1770-1850
To a Child
WRITTEN IN HER ALb.u.m
Small service is true service while it lasts.
Of humblest friends, bright creature! scorn not one: The daisy, by the shadow that it casts, Protects the lingering dewdrop from the sun.
CHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI
ENGLAND, 1830-1894
Consider
Consider The lilies of the field whose bloom is brief: We are as they; 5 Like them we fade away, As doth a leaf.
Consider The sparrows of the air of small account: Our G.o.d doth view 10 Whether they fall or mount,-- He guards us too.
Consider The lilies that do neither spin nor toil, Yet are most fair: 15 What profits all this care And all this toil?
Consider The birds that have no barn nor harvest-weeks; G.o.d gives them food: Much more our Father seeks To do us good. 5
SIR WALTER SCOTT
SCOTLAND, 1771-1832
Lullaby of an Infant Chief
Oh, hush thee, my baby, thy sire was a knight, Thy mother a lady, both lovely and bright; The woods and the glens from the tower which we see, They all are belonging, dear baby, to thee.
Oh, fear not the bugle, though loudly it blows, 10 It calls but the warders that guard thy repose; Their bows would be bended, their blades would be red, Ere the step of a foeman draws near to thy bed.
Oh, hush thee, my baby, the time will soon come, When thy sleep shall be broken by trumpet and drum; Then hush thee, my darling, take rest while you may, For strife comes with manhood, and waking with day. 5
EUGENE FIELD
AMERICA, 1850-1895
Dutch Lullaby[2]
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night Sailed off in a wooden shoe-- Sailed on a river of crystal light, Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?" 10 The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish That live in this beautiful sea; Nets of silver and gold have we!"
Said Wynken, Blynken, And Nod. 5
The old moon laughed and sang a song, As they rocked in the wooden shoe, And the wind that sped them all night long Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish 10 That lived in that beautiful sea-- "Now cast your nets wherever you wish-- Never afeard are we"; So cried the stars to the fishermen three: Wynken, 15 Blynken, And Nod.
All night long their nets they threw To the stars in the twinkling foam-- Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe, 20 Bringing the fishermen home; "Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed As if it could not be, And some folks thought "twas a dream they"d dreamed Of sailing that beautiful sea-- But I shall name you the fishermen three: 5 Wynken, Blynken, And Nod.
Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes: And Nod is a little head, 10 And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies Is a wee one"s trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings Of wonderful sights that be, And you shall see the beautiful things 15 As you rock in the misty sea, Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three: Wynken, Blynken, And Nod. 20
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